July 13, 14, 15 2012 will be Wintersday In July. There will be Wintersday drops and snowball fights but none of the quests and towns will not be decorated. Last Guild Wars 1 holiday before Guild Wars 2 launch. In September GW1 will have Talk Like a Pirate Day, whether GW2 will I don't know. It may not have holidays at start. The next big holiday for GW1 will be Halloween, but it sounds like no new masks/hats this year.

Speaking of Guild Wars 2, I'll be posting on it later today. I already have news about the soundtrack being available for purchase, but waiting for the blog that's supposed to be posted today on whats featured in the final Beta Weekend Event. Another website leaked the news but I'm waiting for official announcement.

John Stumme’s Guide to the Hall of Monuments - there's a video on the bottom, does he even look old enough to have been working 7 years? That's how long he's been with Arenanet. Right now he's the one in charge of maintaining and adding to Guild Wars 1, although there isn't much adding since the company's resources are being spent on Guild Wars 2.

Elite Luxon Armor on Shy Samurai getting this warrior armor and adding it to Hall of Memorials got me the last armor point I needed, taking me to a total of 48 points. Those last two points will be the hardest as all I have left is maxing titles. I need four more maxed titles to get to 49, nine to get to 50.

My elementalist just needs 1 more maxed title to get the Rainbow Phoenix to appear in his HOM. Vanquishing last four places in the Eye oft the North would do it but all together thats over 1000 monsters to kill, in hard mode.

A GW1 ranger may have only 1 pet at a time (GW2 allows 2 active ones but you can charm all of them and then pick the 2 active ones). Pets either do slashing or piercing damage except for the Hound of Balthazar which is the only pet to do fire damage (its a tease for a Guild Wars 2 elite skill which summons a burning hound).

Factions:Black Moa (only 1 appears at a time and only after a speacific quest)CraneLurker (crab)Phoenix (appears only after completing Factions)Reef Lurker (two types red and blue)TigerWhite Tiger

Nightfall:CrocodileFlamingoHyenaJahai RatLionLionessWarthog

Eye of the North:Albino RatBLack BearBlack WolfIguanaJingle Bear (only available for charming during Christmas and after a quest)Moa Bird Mountain EaglePolar BearRavenWarthogWhite CrabWhite Jingle Moa (only available for charming during Christmas and after a quest)White Moa (appears at random in a flock and runs away quickly)White Wolf

Exotic:Black Widow Spider(only available in the Underworld after quests)Hounds of Balthazar (became available for the Seventh Anniversay Celebration in Zaishen Menagerie Grounds, only pet to do fire damage)Moss Spider (requires a spider's egg from Nicholas The Traveler to make appear in Zaishen Menagerie Grounds)Panda (requires Imperial Panda License from Winds of Change Factions quest line to make appear in Zaishen Menagerie Grounds)Rainbow Phoenix (appears in HOM after maxing 10 titles)

Notes:1) Most pets can be made in availbe in Zaishen Menagerie Grounds by purchasing (with real money) the pet unlocking kit. Other wise you have to charm them all one at a time and release in Zaishen Menagerie Grounds. Exotic pets are not included in the kit. Black Moa, Jingle Bear,Phoenix, White Jingle Moa also not included.

2) All pets, including exotic ones can be purchased with Zaishen coins or Balthazar Factions at the Zaishen Menagerie Grounds, though doing so only gives you a level 5 version.Anyone who did not get Hounds of Balthazar during the 7th anniversay can only get it now by using Zaishen coins or Balthazar faction.

3) If you charm a pet in the wild, get it to level 20 and release it into Zaishen Menagerie Grounds you will receive 100 gold and if that pet was not already in your Zaishen Menagerie Grounds it will be now become available for recharming later. Releasing a pet of less than level 20 will not get you any gold. Releasing a pet you got from Zaishen Menagerie Grounds back into Zaishen Menagerie Grounds will gain you nothing it will just allow you pick a different animal to charm.

4) Each player has their own Zaishen Menagerie Grounds, which only the player and their heroes may enter. They don't want people who haven't either bought the animals or earned them playing the game to have access to them.

There is a brand new festival going on in Guild Wars 1 in preparation for Guild Wars 2. From the Guild Wars wiki:

Update - Friday, August 17, 2012Festival Updates

The spirit of adventure is always moving us forward, but it can be difficult to reflect on the journey while you’re in motion. Recent scholarship has unearthed a festival, once observed by our forebearers, that addresses just this notion. The Wayfarer’s Reverie honors the traveler inside each of us, encouraging revelry and revisitation. The world is yours to explore—again or for the first time. Join the celebration!

For those looking to walk the Wayfarer’s path, festival coordinators have been added to Lion’s Arch, Kamadan, Kaineng Center, and the Eye of the North to offer festival quests for their respective regions.

NPCs will be dropping by the major towns—as well as a few locations off in the wilds—to share their insights during the festival. Special drops and bonuses will be in effect throughout the Wayfarer’s Reverie, which will run through August 30th.

Each quest rewards an item a NPC will trade for a gift, but it requires all four items. Since the items can be placed in storage it should be possible to do the quests on different characters than place items in storage and have the one you want to get the gift and the Tormented Weapon it contains take all four items.

There are new NPCs who talk about memories and travel. I think they're named after Arenanet staff members, their names are misspelled though.

And now we know what two NPCs who have been in Embark Beach since that outpost was added are for. Ceira, Sworn to Fire unlocked the hound of Belthazar ranger pet during the 7th anniversary. Fylinn, Sworn to Winds collects Proof of Flames (Tyria/Prophecies), Proof of Waves (Cantha/Factions), Proof of Winds (Elona/Nighfall), Proof of Mountains (Far Shiverpeaks/Eye of the North). And two with no known fuction, yet, Palora, Sworn to Earth and Merrise, Sworn to Seas.

Besides the Proofs the quest rewards are experence equal to the year the part of the game came out ie Wayfarer Prophecies gets you 2005 experience. Each quest gives you 2012, gold, the year Guild Wars 2 comes out.

The Eye of the North quest has you stand on top of a frozen beastie in Drakkar Lake. People thought that was Jormag the Elder Dragon, but Arenanet said no its juat a minion. Later the EOTN quest has you go visit a "strange ridge", I think its a dragon's back.

No new hates, instead two quessts to do, 1 in Lion's Arch and 1 in Kamadan, to get hats from past years. Edit: I don't know if its supposed to work this way, but the character in Lion's Arch gave me the quest then gave me the token without my having to do anything for it. Same thing in Kamadan.